Things are starting to look mighty festive inside numerous Southern California bars and restaurants as the holiday season approaches. Several locations throughout the area are hosting the Miracle and Sippin’ Santa pop-up experiences, which include over-the-top Christmas décor, specialty cocktails and some seriously adorable and kitschy barware.
While the concept was created in 2014 by Greg Boehm, a New York-based bar owner and CEO of barware company Cocktail Kingdom, locations throughout the world have now bought in to bring these experiences to their establishments.
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The Ordinarie in Long Beach launched Miracle at its tavern and restaurant a handful of years ago and owner Christy Caldwell said that he and his crew are currently busy preparing to kick off the concept on Friday, Nov. 24. Caldwell met Boehm at a cocktail convention in New Orleans several years ago and he sold him on bringing the pop-up to Long Beach.
“I came home from New Orleans and told my wife (Jaime Caldwell) that we had an opportunity to do this Christmas bar and she said ‘Do it, I was born for this,’” he said with a laugh. He said that his team usually spends about four full days getting all of the decorations in place and they have a storage unit for the bulk of the strings of colorful lights, all the garland, ornaments and more seasonal décor that they continue to add to each year.
“People come in and they’re just so full of awe and they walk in with big smiles on their faces and a sense of joy and just happiness,” he said. “We have our locals and see people from Los Angeles and from San Diego, they come from all over for Miracle because they say our decorations are some of the craziest ones they’ve seen.”
The Ordinarie will continue the elaborate celebration with customers from noon-1 a.m. Tuesdays-Sundays through Dec. 31. Though many of the bars and restaurants take reservations for the pop-ups, they fill up quickly. The Ordinarie’s available reservations are sparse at the moment, however Caldwell said they’ve allowed more room for walk-ins this year to be able to accommodate their regulars.
“About half of the restaurant is reservations and the other half and the entire bar area will be walk-in,” he said. “We just had so many people coming in from everywhere and we wanted to make sure our locals got in. The Long Beach community is important to us and we want to bring that Christmas spirit to the people living down here, so we’re doing more walk-ins. We open at noon, so come on down, there’s always space at noon.”
The Miracle bar concept also comes with an ever-evolving cocktail menu and the participating venues receive all of the recipes and the specialty barware to serve the drinks in. Some of the Miracle cocktails include the Christmaspolitan made with vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, rosemary and an absinthe mist; The Carol Barrel with Irish whiskey, banana liqueur, Jamaican navy strength rum, Guinness punch, lime, aromatic and chocolate bitters and nutmeg; and a Christmas Cricket with blanco tequila, vanilla liqueur, minty amaro, coco pandan, cream and mole bitters. Cocktails are typically $13.95-$17.95 each, but prices may vary by location.
There are also hot drinks including the Hot Buttered Rum (Jamaican rum, velvet falernum, mixed spice butter, oat milk and nutmeg) and Mulled Wine (mulled red wine, tawny port, orange liqueur and Christmas spices) for and nice and naughty shots with rye whiskey and gingerbread for the former and tequila, habanero, ginger and hibiscus for the latter. The specialty shots are $8.95 each.
New cocktails this year include the Marshmallows & Unicorns with gin, vanilla liqueur, velvet falernum, cherry liqueur, cardamom, black pepper, marshmallow, lemon, egg white, Tiki bitters and soda and The Krampus with resposado tequila, oloroso sherry, allspice ram, mezcal, ginger, hibiscus, lime and hellfire bitters.
The drinks are served in glasses like the new Unicorn and Krampus mugs, as well as and the popular Santarex mug. Guests can even take some of the barware home for $16.95-$21.95, but these collectible cups can sell out fast.
“The most popular used to be the Santarex because it’s a dinosaur with a Santa hat, but this year there’s a holiday unicorn and a Krampus one, which that one might not be super cutesy, but I think that one is going to be in short supply this year and we’re excited to bring them all out,” Caldwell said.
Miracle partnered with restaurant and bar owner and noted tiki historian Beachbum Berry for its Sippin’ Santa concept, which will take over Lime in the Coconut in Chula Vista and The Grass Skirt in San Diego this holiday season.
This menu has Tiki-style cocktails and includes drinks like Sharkey’s First Christmas with vodka, aquavit, melon and walnut liqueurs, lime and pineapple juices; the North Pole Bowl with Martinique and Jamaican rums, black tea, thrice-spiced honey, lime and vanilla syrup (serves two); and the Sippin’ Santa with aged Demerara rum, amaro, lemon, orange and gingerbread mix. Drinks are typically $14-$30. The barware includes the Shantashark mug; set of two double rock glasses; and the Surfin’ Santa Mug. Barware is $20-$65 and subject to availability.
Here are the Miracle and Sippin’ Santa locations throughout Southern California. Dates, hours, prices and reservations vary by location, so visit official websites for the most current updates.
Los Angeles County
Patrick Molloy’s, 50 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. 310-798-9762. patrickmolloys.com.
The Ordinaire, 210 The Promenade North, Long Beach. 562-676-4261. theordinaire.com.
Neighbors Playa Vista, 12751 Millennium Drive, Los Angeles. 833-624-7778. neighborsrestaurants.com.
Riverside County
Truss & Twine, 800 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite F, Palm Springs. 760-699-7294. trussandtwine.com.
Apparition Room, 28693 Old Town Front Street, Suite 105, Temecula. 951-514-6332. apparitionroom.com.
San Diego County
The Bar at Rancho Bernardo Inn, 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, San Diego. 855-574-5356. ranchobernardoinn.com.
Draft at Belmont Park, 3105 Ocean Front Walk, San Diego. 858-228-9305. belmontpark.com.
Sippin’ Santa at Lime in the Coconut, 248 3rd Ave., Chula Vista. 619-271-8809. limexcoconut.com.
Sippin’ Santa at The Grass Skirt, 910 Grand Ave., San Diego. 858-412-5237. thegrassskirt.com.
